Plus: Home sales in the Salt Lake City metro area are still down but are gaining summer steam as inventory remains low
Good morning. Here are today’s temperatures: Logan: 42 - 80° ⛅ Salt Lake City: 55 - 83° ⛅ St. George: 65 - 95° ☀️ The airport can be, and often is, a distressing place, Meg Walter points out in her latest column. But there's something special about our Salt Lake City airport that can bring reprieve to the weary traveler: sign-holding families. These welcoming committees, Meg writes, are likely bigger, louder and more frequent than in any other airport partly because of the number of young adults that depart on missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and because of the size of our families. And the best part? Whether or not you are the intended subject of a group's cheers, applause and smiles, you still get the feeling of being welcomed home. You can read Meg's piece here. Also on our mind: Why blaming the pandemic for rising teen suicide rates won’t solve the problem, whether the policies of liberal politicians are effectively legalizing drugs and how the NBA draft will affect the Jazz. |
| ‘Utah is ripe for it’: Jazz owner Ryan Smith on bringing NHL to the Beehive State |
|
| | Ryan Smith is quickly becoming a household name in Utah, particularly in sports-loving homes. The founder of Qualtrics, a wildly successful customer experience platform, recently became the owner of the Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake and is now looking to channel his business and sports acumen into building a breakout NHL franchise in the state. Smith has made no secret of his interest in adding a hockey franchise to his Smith Entertainment Group holdings, and both he and NHL executives have referenced recent meetings to discuss how that might come to pass. At the moment, speculation is churning about the Arizona Coyotes relocating to Utah, an idea that is being powered at least in part by Arizona voters rejecting a proposal for a new Tempe hockey arena for the team in May. When asked on a podcast about the prospects of a Coyotes move to Salt Lake City, Smith kept the doors of possibility wide open without weighing in on how close such a deal may, or may not, be. Smith also underscored his faith that “Utah is ripe for it” when it comes to its readiness to host a successful future NHL team and cited evidence he sees of pent-up demand for a hometown take on professional hockey. “We’re already the winter sports capitol of the world,” Smith said. “The Olympics are coming back, seven million people are coming here every year for winter sports and almost every single winter sport is headquartered here in one way or another. |
Read more about potential deals to bring a National Hockey League team to Utah and Ryan Smith's role in brokering them. |
|
More in Sports With all eyes on the NBA draft, a Q&A with the Jazz’s vice president of player personnel (Deseret News) Former BYU star Ashley Hatch left off United States World Cup roster (Deseret News) Just how soon will the IOC pick the next Winter Olympics hosts? (Deseret News) 2030 Winter Games bidders include undeclared ‘sixth country,’ IOC says (Deseret News) 'One of my best swings ever': Bees' Jo Adell homer sets an all-time record (KSL) | The Salt Lake City metro area continues to be among the top housing markets in the U.S. to see the most dramatic yearly declines in home sales since high interest rates chilled the market. However, home sales also appear to be picking up steam heading into the summer with a seasonal 20% increase in home sales over April, as well as an 8.7% rise in new listings, according to RE/MAX’s May National Housing Market Report. While home sales are still down 18.7% from last May, “solid demand amid tight inventory” is helping push home prices up slightly. Of the 51 markets included in RE/MAX’s survey, the Salt Lake City metro area was among the top five markets with the biggest year-over-year declines in closed transactions in May. The month closed out with 1,113 transactions compared to 1,575 in May 2022, a 29.3% drop. However, the Salt Lake City metro’s median sales price was up 7.1% in May from the previous month, hitting $525,000, RE/MAX reported. Read more about how Salt Lake City housing prices have fluctuated over the last year. | Faith Meet Sarah Sun, Miss Utah 2023 and a Latter-day Saint convert committed to serving others (Church News) Ukrainian Refugees Find Christian Welcome—in Russia (Christianity Today) Health The Deseret News Editorial Board: Blaming the pandemic for rising teen suicide rates won’t solve the problem (Deseret News) Will doctors start screening for anxiety during routine checkups? (Deseret News) Utah health department considers allowing more nicotine in vape pens (KSL) Politics Utah delegation supports Owens’ bill to increase flights into Washington, D.C. (Deseret News) Jason Rantz: Why are liberal politicians effectively legalizing drugs? (Deseret News) Utah asks judge to throw out lawsuit over age verification for porn sites (Deseret News) Orrin Hatch, Elizabeth Warren, Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton team up to fight endometriosis (Salt Lake Tribune 🔒) Salt Lake County Aftershocks continue to rock Magna area 3 years after 5.7 magnitude earthquake (KSL) Utah Transit Authority tries raising wages to up to $28 to get more workers (Fox 13) Uintah and Utah Counties Missing Indiana teen found in Utah; Vernal man arrested (KSL) Huntsman Cancer Institute to expand in Utah County (KSL) The West Man killed in 'highly unusual' bear attack in Arizona; bear shot dead by neighbor (ABC news) Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes bill that would give people with disabilities new option to vote by mail (Texas Tribune) The Nation Florida counties under quarantine after sighting of giant African snail (Deseret News) What the New, Low Test Scores for 13-Year-Olds Say About U.S. Education Now (New York Times 🔒) The World Biden calls Xi a ‘dictator’ after Blinken’s China trip (Deseret News) Modi’s Vision for India Rests On Six Giant Companies (Wall Street Journal 🔒) | Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill hugs Betty Sawyer, Project Success director, during a Juneteenth celebration at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Friday. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News) Read more about what Utah community leaders did to celebrate Juneteenth. |
That's all for today. Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond! And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today! Thank you for reading. — Brigham |
| Copyright © 2022 Deseret News, All rights reserved. |